Over 200 hot spots in Sumatra Island

Antara 20 Oct 10;

Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA News) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration`s (NOAA) satellite has detected 202 hot spots on Indonesia`s Sumatra Island on Tuesday, an authority said.

The Pekanbaru-based Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency`s analyst, Slamet Riyadi, said here Tuesday that most of the hot spots were found in South Sumatra Province with 66 hot spots.

The remaining hot spots were detected in the provinces of Jambi, Riau, Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Aceh, and Lampung with 42, 36, 24, 16, 13, 3 and 2 hot spots respectively, he said.

On Monday, the imagery data released by NOAA satellite showed 358 hot spots throughout the island. But the number decreased to 202 thanks to rainfalls in some provinces, he said.

The presence of hot spots in Riau and other provinces in Sumatra Island was one of the indications of forest and bush fires,

In extinguishing the forest and bush fire, the Riau provincial government was recommended to make artificial rain to halt the spread of fire, he said.

"We are going to ask the central government (through forestry ministry) to provide us
with funds for making artificial rain," he said.(*)

Dumai airport temporarily closed due to haze
Antara 20 Oct 10;
Dumai, Riau Province (ANTARA News) - As a result of thick haze shrouding the area, authorities at 7 a.m temporarily closed Pinang Kampai airport of Riau province, on Wednesday.

Head of Pinang Kampai airport Ackwin said visibility on the air was only about 500 meters.

He said that the visibility was beyond the normal conditions so that the airport was temporarily closed for reasons of flight safety."We have postponed one flight to Jakarta this morning," Ackwin said.

He said that the weather condition was basically good but the haze was relatively thick that disturbed visibility. "We have also postponed the departure of a helicopter from Pekanbaru (Riau capital city) to Dumai until the visibility could reach over 1,000 meters," he said.

It was informed that the helicopter would depart from Pekanbaru to monitor forest fires in Dumai, Bengkalis and Rokan Hilir districts.

Images of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration`s (NOAA) satellite showed increasing number of hot spots in Dumai city, reaching 18 in different sub-districts.

On Tuesday, NOAA detected 202 hot spots on Indonesia`s Sumatra Island.The Pekanbaru-based Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency`s analyst, Slamet Riyadi, said that most of the hot spots were found in South Sumatra Province with 66 hot spots.

The remaining hot spots were detected in the provinces of Jambi, Riau, Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Aceh, and Lampung with 42, 36, 24, 16, 13, 3 and 2 hot spots respectively, he said.

On Monday, the imagery data released by NOAA satellite showed 358 hot spots throughout the island. But the number decreased to 202 thanks to rainfalls in some provinces, he said.(*)

Haze blankets Batam Island, Singapore
Antara 20 Oct 10;

Batam, Riau Islands (ANTARA News) - Thick haze of forest and bush fires on various parts of Sumatra Island has blanketed the sky of Batam Island in Riau Islands Province on Wednesday.

The smoke also blanketed the sky above the areas near Batam, such as that of the islands of Rempang and Galang, a local climatologist and meteorologist said.

The haze was likely caused by the forest fires, and slash and burns on certain parts of the Sumatra Island, Agus Salim Lacuda said.

Despite the cloudy sky as a result of the haze, flights were not yet hampered due to clear enough visibility, he said.

"The pilots` visibility from Wednesday morning to mid day remains at six thousand meters. So this is still good for airplanes," said Lacuda, head of the Hang Nadim International Airport`s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Office.

The coming haze has also affected Singapore, a tiny city state which shares sea border with the Indonesian island of Batam, since Tuesday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration`s (NOAA) satellite has detected 202 hot spots on Indonesia`s Sumatra Island on Tuesday.

The Pekanbaru-based Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency`s analyst, Slamet Riyadi, said that most of the hot spots were found in South Sumatra Province with 66 hot spots.

The remaining hot spots were detected in the provinces of Jambi, Riau, Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Aceh, and Lampung with 42, 36, 24, 16, 13, 3 and 2 hot spots respectively, he said.

On Monday, the imagery data released by NOAA satellite showed 358 hot spots throughout the island. But the number decreased to 202 thanks to rainfalls in some provinces, he said.

The presence of hot spots in Riau and other provinces in Sumatra Island was one of the indications of forest and bush fires.

In extinguishing the forest and bush fire, the Riau provincial government was recommended to make artificial rain to halt the spread of fire, he said.

"We are going to ask the central government (through forestry ministry) to provide us with funds for making artificial rain," he said.(*)